No. 1 Florida State routs Duke, eyes BCS title game

Dec. 8, 2013
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by Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY Sports

by Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY Sports

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CHARLOTTE - As the chaos surrounded him late Saturday night, Bryan Stork took a pair of scissors and knelt down on the grass at Bank of America Stadium. Seconds earlier, the final score had flashed on the scoreboard: Florida State 45, Duke 7.

The win guaranteed the 13-0 Seminoles a spot in the BCS national championship game in Pasadena on Jan. 6. Some of Stork's teammates waved roses in the air; others put them in their mouths, like they'd seen players do many times before on television. Other players zigzagged along the sideline searching for black-and-white flat-brimmed ACC championship hats.

Stork, a redshirt senior offensive lineman, took those scissors and poked at the ground. He cut and he pulled, and soon enough, he'd yanked a piece of grass the size of his palm from the earth. He picked up his memento, held it up and headed toward the makeshift stage, where his star quarterback would dance and his coach would chant to his players, "We're not champs yet! We're not champs yet!"

No, the immensely talented and top-ranked Florida State team is not a national champion - not yet. It will presumably face Auburn to determine that.

Florida State, which hasn't won a national title since its undefeated 1999 season, will be returning to the championship game - as well as its glory days - for the first time in more than a decade. (And for the first time in the post-Bobby Bowden era.)

"This is what we came here for, and we got it," Senior wide receiver Kenny Shaw said. "It's a blessing. â?¦ We still have some more history to write."

To this point, that story was been fairly straightforward - the parts that involve the football field, at least. The Seminoles have blown out most of their competition. Only one opponent came within 14 points (Boston College, 48-34) all season - the next closest was 27 points - and they covered the spread against Duke as a 29-point favorite. Though the Blue Devils' defense posed more of a challenge Saturday than Florida State had seen recently, it was ultimately no match for the nation's most potent offense.

Florida State redshirt freshman quarterback Winston appeared unsettled early, two days after prosecutors decided not to press charges against him in a sexual battery case. His first two passes of the night fell incomplete, and Florida State went three-and-out on its opening drive. For the first time all season, the Seminoles did not score in the first quarter - and credit goes to the surprisingly staunch Duke defense, which forced a fumble early.

But by the middle of the second quarter, Winston righted himself on the biggest stage of his career to date and the Heisman Trophy front-runner returned. By game's end, he'd completed 19 of 32 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns (as well as two interceptions). He also had 10 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown.

Winston's 11-yard touchdown pass to Shaw early in the third quarter was his 37th passing touchdown of the season, setting a Football Bowl Subdivision record for a freshman. Later, on a 54-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin, Winston set an FBS record for passing yards in a season for a freshman.

When asked after the game what he had learned from the just-completed investigation, Winston said he had to get more mature. He spoke about he and his teammates' ability to focus on football and "zone out" the rest.

Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said after Saturday's game if Winston was not the best player in the nation, "he's one of them. â?¦ Even though he wasn't on his 'A' game today, he was able to come back. To me, he's a tremendous, tremendous player."

Next up for Florida State is No. 3 Auburn, which dispatched Missouri to win the SEC championship earlier Saturday. Because Michigan State upset No. 2 Ohio State and handed the Buckeyes their first loss, the Tigers will likely slide up to face the Seminoles in Pasadena next month.

Duke's message to Auburn? Be prepared.

"You look at their record, you look at what they've been doing to teams," Duke tight end Braxton Deaver said. "They're just been blowing guys out of the water. They definitely smacked us tonight. It's one of those the things where I hope whoever they play in the national championship is ready to play them. Overall, the completeness of that team is completely unbelievable."